Machine for blocking or shaping boots and shoes



March 22, 1932. s, GMSON 1,850,389

MACHINE FOR BLOCKTNG OR SHAPING BOOTS AND SHOES Filed Oct. 15, 1928 2Sheets-sheet 1 //YV[/YTO/? Kingsley Spencer Gimson BY M Wa/W March 22,1932. K, 5, GIMSON 1,850,389

MACHINE FOR BLOCKING OR SHAPING BOOTS AND SHOES Filed Oct. 15, 1928 2Sheets-Sheet 2 //Vl '/VTO/? Kingsley SpencerGimson HTTO/P/YEX'S PatentedMar. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE KINGSLEY SPENCER GIMSON, OFLEICESTER, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR T UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OFPATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY MACHHTE FOR BLOCKINGOR SHAPING BOOTS AND SHOES Application filed October 15, 1928, SerialNo. 312,503, and in Great Britain October 18, 1927.

This invention relates to machines for blocking or shaping boots andshoes '(hereinafter and in the appended claims both included in the termshoes) In the case of the lighter sorts of ladies shoes and moreespecially in the case of the cheaper qualities which not infrequentlyare somewhat flimsy, it is found that after having been boxed and keptfor a more or less prolonged period in stock, the upper parts thereofdroop and therefore at the time they are produced for sale are found tohave lost their original shape and smart appearance. I To overcome thisdefect it is in some shoe factories the practice, before boxing theshoes, to subject the said upper parts to moulding or shaping pressureon or against a heated inside mould, the shoes being maintained for sometime under moulding pressure. The effeet of this is in a measure to.iron the said upper parts so that they will for aconsiderably extendedperiod retain their shape.

Machines on the market for thus moulding or blocking the upper parts ofshoes are seri:

ously defective in that the outer mouldingor shaping member is of such acharacter that in order to subject the sides of the upper part of theshoes to effective moulding pressure it is necessary to subject the heelend to very much greater and frequently therefore excessive pressure.

' V This often leads to the heel end of the shoes being damaged or, ifthis is to be avoided, to the sides not being sufliciently moulded orblocked for the purpose in View.

An object of my invention is the provision of a blocking or shapingmachine for'the purpose stated, in which thedefectreferred to isobviated.

'To this end an important feature of my invention consists in a machinefor blocking or shaping shoes in which co-operating inside and outsideshaping members are provided,

one of which is heated and the other ex- 5 pansible. Said members arepreferably adapted for relative movement additional to that due to theexpansion of one of the said members and if the outer member isexpansible it is preferably movable in relation to the inner member sothat it may be well clear of the work when this is being positioned orremoved.

The expansible member may comprise a hollow pad to fit against the shoe,which pad is expansible by, for example, air under pres- 7 sure, so thatit will adapt itself to variations in the form of, different shoes due,for instance, to variations in the thickness of the upper materials.Said pad will preferably also adapt itself to inequalities of surface toensure that the whole area acted on is subjected to equal pressurethroughout.

I now propose to describe a simple constructional form of my inventionwith refin Fig. 1 is a. side elevation; Fig. 2 is a view looking in thedirection of the arrow in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a section on line 3+3 ofFig. 2.

Although said constructi'onalform of my invention also constitutes animportant feature thereof I wish it to be understood that the scope ofmy invention isnot limited thereto Mounted in a frame 6 is a stud 'Z towhich an inside mould or form 8 is removably secured by a pin 9 topermit moulds of various sizes and shapes to be substituted. The saidinside mould is preferably arranged so that the shoe when appliedthereon has its sole vertical and facing the work-mam'and is heated byan electric heating device 10 connected by wires 11 to a suitable sourceof electricity.

At a suitable distance to the rear of the inside mould I provide theframe with a pivot stud 12 on which two substantially horizontal levers13, 14 are mounted. The lever 13 extends to over the inside mould 8 andis formed or provided with a sort of saddle-piece 15,

and the lever 14, which in the main is located;

above the lever 13, also extends forwardly to above the inside form andis provided with an upwardly extending handle 16:

An eyebolt 18, connected to the lever 13,

passes through an aperture in the lever 14, 7

and is provided on its upper end with nuts 19, and a spring 20surrounding the eyebolt is interposed between the levers 13, 14 andserves to maintain them normally as far apart as the nuts 19 allow.Movement of the levers 13, 14 towards each other is limited by an adiiierence to the accompanying drawings where- P justable stop 22 andmovement downwards.

' their upper ends by struts or links 31, 32 and springs 33, 34, to thelever 14.

Secured within the saddle-pieces 27, 28 by bolts 38 is a flexible cover40 which also is receivedin the saddle 15 and within which a hollowrubber pneumatic pad or tube 41 is contained, said tube beingsubstantially horseshoe shaped.

The pad 41 is connected by a tube 42 to an air controlling valve whichcomprises a vertical cylindrical valve chamber 43 and a transversepassage 45 which on one side is connected by a pipe 44 with a compressedair reservoir (not shown) and at the other side with the tube 42.Arranged for sliding movement within said chamber is a cylindrical valvemember '46 having two peripheral grooves 47, 48 and the valve chamber isprovided with an outlet port 50 that is in communication by a conduit 51with the passage 45 and tube 42. The'member 46 is connected by a link 52tothe horizontal arm of an elbow-piece 55 pivoted at 56 to the frame 6.A spring 57 surrounding the link 52 exerts an upwardpressure on saidarm. Mounted on a rear extension 6201: the lever 14 is a block 61adapted to engage a stop or shoulder 63 or a cam surface 64 of a blocksecured to the elbow-piece 55. A spring 65, attached at one end to theextension 62 and at the other end. to the machine frame, tends to re- Yheated mould 8 and then grasps the handle 16 and pulls this forwardlyand downwardly and at this time the levers 13, 14'move toward theshoeand the block 61 rides upwardly on the surface 64 of the block 60. Whenthe lever 13 meetsthe stop 23 (at which time the saddle-piece 15 is inclose proximity to the shoe) it remains stationary whilst the lever 14continues to move against the action of the spring 20 to bring about theclosing of the saddles 27, 28 until said lever meets the stop 22 (atwhich time the saddles 27, 28 are in close proximity to the sides of theshoe). The

block 61 will now have reached the top of the block 60 which thenrises'into engagement with the shoulder 63 owing to the action of thespring 57 on the elbow-piece 55 and thus locks the levers 13, 14 intheir operative positionsi. e., the positions in which the saddles 15,27, 28 are in close proximity to the shoe. In this position the outletpassage 50 is blocked by the member 46 and compressed air passes throughthe passage 45, groove 48, and pipe 42, to the tube or distensible pad41 which thereupon expands and presses the shoe parts tight against theheated inner mould 8, the pad adapting itself to the shape of the insidemould so that a perfect shaping of the upper portion of the shoe isobtained and all portions thereof subjected to equal pressure and noneto excessive pressure.

When the moulding operation is completed the operator pulls the trigger66 upwards thereby rocking the elbow-piece 55 to depress the valvemember 46 into the position wherein it cuts off the supply of compressedair and permits air from the pad 41 to escape through the tube 42,passages 45, 51, 50 and groove 47. At the same time the block 60 ismoved out of engagement with the block 61 whereupon the springs 65, 33,34 return the levers 13, 14 and saddles 15, 27 28 to their normal raisedpositionsu At the commencement of this return movement the lever 14 islifted whilst the lever 13 remains stationary (until the lever 14 meetsthe nuts 19) and during this movement the links or struts 31, 32 willswing the depending saddle-pieces 27, 28

about their pivots soas to open out the legs of the horseshoe pad 40,41. Continued upward movement of the lever 14 will raise the lever 13also so that the pneumatic pad will be bodily moved away from the heelend of the inner mould. By this means free access to the inner mould andample finger room between the mould and the saddles will be given t othe operator and this is of great importance as it enables the operatornot only to adjust a shoe on the mould but also to remove a moulded orblocked shoe without fear of distorting the shaped shoe.

Further, when the operator has adjusted a shoe on the inside heatedform, he is merely required to bring the outside mould to the operativeposition bydepressing the lever 14, whereupon instantly the parts arelocked and the outside mould is inflated. Similarly, when the mouldingis completed, the operator merely pulls on the trigger 66 when instantlythe form is deflated and returned to its normal position, at once givingfree access as under heat and pressure for a sufiiciently long" periodto ensure the desired blocking or ironing effect, I intend to provide aplurality of the above described apparatus on a rotatable turret adaptedto moved by the workman so that as each form hashad a shoe applied on itand has been subjected to the actionof the expansible outer moulding orblocking member, the operator will rotate the turret and apply a shoe tothenext moulding or blocking means and so on, the shoes being maintainedunder moulding pressure whilst the turret completes a revolution whenthe shoes successively again reach the operators position so that theymay be removed and other shoes applied.

The air in the reservoir will be maintained rear portions of shoe uppershaving, 1n com by a pump or other suitable means atany desired suitablepressure, a relief valve being provided, if desired, to ensure that thedesired maximum pressure of air is not exceeded, and the severalpneumatic outside moulds will be connected up with said reservoir whichlatter may rotate with the rotatable turret, a suitable joint being madebetween the reservoir or a supply pipe thereon and the duct leading fromthe pump chamber to permit of such rotary movement.

Parts of the inside mould may be provided with heat insulating coveringor blocks to avoid heating those parts-for instance the insole-of theshoe that are preferably kept cool and the pneumatic outside mould will4 also be protected by suitable flexible covering 40 so that it will notbe damaged by theheat from the inside mould and to re-inforce it towithstand the pressure of the air.

By use of my invention a more erfect moulding or blocking is obtainablean at the same time a greater output than when machines on the marketare employed.

What I claim is 1. Amachine for blocking or shaping the rear portions ofshoe uppers having, in com-' bination, a rigid mold to engage the innerface of the shoe upper, an expansible frame surround'n'g the rearportion of the shoe supported by said mold, a distensible pad carried bysaid frame, said frame being constructed and arranged substantially toenclose said pad except at its shoe engaging surface, and

means for applying fluid pressure to said pad.

c 2. A machine for blocking or shaping the rear portions of shoe 'uppershaving, 1n combination, an inside mold and an outside mold to engageinner and outer surfaces respect1 vely of the shoe upper, one of saidmolds being distensible, means to distend said mold, a

lever carrying the outside mold and movable to bring the outside moldinto operative position about the rear portion of the shoe supported bythe inside mold, and means operated by movement of said lever forautomatically causing distension of the distensible mold. Y

3. A machine for blocking or shapingthe rearportions of shoe uppershaving, in combination, an inside mold and an outside mold to engage theinner and outer surfaces respectively of the shoe upper, one of saidmolds being distensible, means to distend said mold, a lever carryingthe outside mold and movable to bring the outside mold into operativeposition about the rear portion of the shoe supported by the insidemold, means operated by movement of said lever for'automatically causingdistension of the distensible mold,

' and means for locking said lever to maintain the outside mold inoperative position while the shoe upper is subjected to moldingpressure.

4. A machine for blocking or shaping the bination, an inside mold havingthe shape it is desired to impart to the rear portion of the shoe upper,an outside mold comprising a heel end saddle piece arranged opposite therear end of the shoe, two side saddle pieces pivoted to said heel endsaddle piece and ar- .rear end ofthe shoe, two side saddle piecespivoted to said heel end saddle piece and arranged opposite thesides ofthe shoe, a distensible pad carried by all of said saddle pieces andsubstantially enclosed thereby except on the surface adjacent to theshoe, means to move the heel end saddle piece to operative positionenclosing the rear end of a shoe supported on said inside mold, andother means to move the side saddle pieces-to their operative positions,both said means being arranged for simultaneous operation.

6. A machine for blocking shoe uppers having, in combination, an-insidemold and an outside mold, said molds being normally spaced from eachother and the bottom of the inside mold being toward the operator andfreely accessible to him for placing the rear portion of a shoe upperthereover, one of said molds being distensible, means for moving one ofsaid molds toward the other, means for locking the movable mold, andmeans operated thereby for distending the distensible mold. 7. A machinefor blocking or shaping shoe uppers having, in combination, an insidemold and an outside mold to engage the inner and outer surfacesrespectively of an end portion of a shoe upper, one of said molds beingheated and the other distensible, a lever carrying one of the molds andmovable to brin': the molds into operative, relation for treating theend portion of a shoe upper placed between them, means to distend thedistensible mold, and means operated by movement of said lever forautomatically controlling, said distending means.

8. A machine for blocking or shaping shoe uppers having, in combination,a rigid heated mold to engage the inner face of the rear portion of ashoe upper and arranged to receive the shoe upper by heightwise movementof the upper relatively to the mold, a distensible outside moldconstructed and arranged substantially to embrace said inner mold, andmeans for uniformly distending the shoe engaging portion of said outermold to cause the upper the heated mold.

10. A'machine for blocking or shaping shoe uppers having, incombination, an indistensi- 'ble heated mold to engage the inner face ofan end portion only of a shoe upper, a mold arranged to engage saidportion of the upper exteriorly, and means for expanding said outer moldinwardly of the/shoe to press the upper against the heated mold.

.11. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, an inside rigid shaping member to receive and support anend portion only of a shoe upper, an outside inflatable shaping membernormall yieldin'gly held away from said inside her and manually movabletoward the shoe, a latch for holding the outside member in operativeposition, and means for eflecting inflation of said member.

12. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, a

V rigidly supported inside shaping member to receive the rear portion ofa shoe upper, an outside inflatable shaping member arranged for movementtoward and from said inside member to embrace the rear portion of theupper, means for automatically locking said outside member when it isbrought into proximity to the inside shaping member, and means for.automatically inflating said outside member when the shaping members arebrought into such proximity.

13. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, a frame, an inside shapingmember rigidly supported by saidframe, an outside inflatable shaping member constructed aiidarranged toembrace the portion of a shoe upper supported by said inside member, andmeans mouhted on said frame for supporting the inflatable member, saidmeans covering substantially all portions of said outside inflatablemember except its shoe-engaging surface.

14. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes comprising aframe, an inside shaping member carried by said frame,

outside shaping member supporting means" mounted on said frame andmovable towards and from said inside member, an outside shaping membercarried by said supporting means locking means to maintain saidsupporting means in proximity to the inside member, means to supplyfluid to said outside member, and a movable member which first movessaid supporting means into proximity to the inside member and thenrenders said locking and fluid supply means operative to lock thesupporting means in proximity to the inside member and to inflat theoutside member.

15. A machine for blocking or shaping th uppers of shoes having, incombination, an inside shaping member, an outside pneumatic inflatableU-shaped pad movable into and out of operative position with respect tosaid inside member, means for substantially preventing diste'nsion ofthe pad except in the direction toward the portion of the shoe uppersupported by the inner member, and means for automatically effectinginflation of the pad when it is brought into said'operative position.

16. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, an inside shaping member, an outside pneumatic inflatableU-shaped pad movable into and out of operative position with respect tosaid inside member, means for automatically locking said pad againstretrograde movement whenbrought into said operative position, means forsupporting substantially all portions of the pad not in contact with theshoe upper, and means for effecting inflation of the pad when it isbrought into operative position.

17. A machine for blocking or sha ing the uppers of shoes comprising aninsi e shaping member, an outside inflatable sha ing member movable intoand out of the bloc ing or shaping position, a locking memberautomatically moved to lock the outside member against retrogrademovement when the latter is brought to said position, means to effectinflation of said outside member, and connections between thev lockingmember and said means whereby the inflation 0f the pad is automaticallyaccomplished when said locking member moves to the locking position.

18. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, an insfde shaping member having the shape it is desired toimpartto the rear ortion of a shoe upper, an outside inflate. 1e shapingmember movable lengthwise of the inside shaping member into and out ofoperative relation thereto, a locking member that automatically locks.the outside member when it is brought into said position, fluidsupplying means for inflating said outside member operated by saidlocking member, and manually operated means for releasing the lockingmember and causing deflation of I said outside member.

19. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, a

fixed inside shaping member arranged to repleted shoe, means for heatingsaid member, an inflatable pad, supporting means for holding said padclear of the shoe to permit convenient placing of the upper over theinside shaping member and adapted to move said pad from its inoperativeposition to an operative position in proximity to the shoe andsurroundin the heel and adjacent side portions thereo means to lock saidsupportmg means and the pad in said operative position, and meansoperated by said locking means to inflate the pad.

20. A machine for blocking or sha ing the uppers of shoes comprising'aninsi e shaping member to receive a shoe,means to heat said member,all-inflatable pad, a heel-end saddle-piece to carry the middle portionof said pad, side saddle-pieces to carry the endportions of said pad andpivotally mounted on said heel-end saddlepiece, means to move all thesaddle-pieces longitudinally of the shoe until'the heel end saddle-pieceis in proximity thereto and thereafter to move the side saddle-piecesaround their pivots until they also are in proximity to the shoe, andmeans thereafter to inflate said pad.

21. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes comprising aninside shaping member to receive and support an end portion only of ashoe upper, an outside shaping member movable toward and from saidinside member and adapted to enclose the portion of the upper supportedthereby, one of said members being inflatable, means for automaticallylocking said outside member when the latter is brought into proximity tothe inside member, and means for automatically inflating one of saidmembers when they are locked in proximity to each other.

22. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, a frame, an inside shaping member fixed to said frame andaccessible to the operator for placing a shoe upper thereon, an outsideshaping member mounted on said frame for movement toward and from saidinside member, meansto move said outside member to a predeterminedposition in proximity to the inside member, means to lock said outsidemember in said position, means for inflating one of said members, andmeans for heating the other of said members.

, 23. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes comprising aframe, an inside shaping member carried by said frame. means to heatsaid member, a lever pivoted on said frame, a heel end saddle-piececarried on said lever, side saddle-pieces pivoted to said heel endsaddle-piece, a hand lever,

connections between said hand lever and the side saddle-pieces,,aninflatable pad carried by the heel end and side saddle-pieces, anadjustable stop to limit the movement of said lever, an adjustable stopto limit the movement of the hand lever, a spring catch to lock saidhand'lever in one extreme position, a source of fluid-pressure forinflatin said pad, a valve to control the supply 0 fluid pressure,operative connections between said catch and valve, and manuallyoperable means for releasing said catch.

24. A machine for blocking or shaping the uppers of shoes having, incombination, a v

fixed mold to engage the inner face of an end portion only of a shoeupper, an inflatable mold to engage the up er exteriorly of the innermold and mova le toward and from the inner mold, means for heating the,inner mold, and means for inflating the outer mold. I k

25. A machine for blocking or shaping shoe uppers having, incombination, a. mold to engage the inner face of the rear portion p of ashoe upper, a distensible outside mold constructed and arrangedsubstantially to embrace said inner mold, means for distendmg said outermold, a flexible cover for the distensible mold, and means constructedand arranged to prevent expansion of said distensible mold except indirections toward the shoe upper.

26. In a machine of the class described, a

support for a form inside of a shoe upper,

fluid pressure means constructed and arranged to extend around the heelend of the upper on the form and to press the upper against the form,said support and fluid pressure means being relatively movablelengthwise of the upper to position the form and said means in operativerelation to each other, and members movable toward and from the format-its opposite sides for confining portions of said against distensionheightwise of the form.

27. In a machine. of the class described, a shaping form, a flexiblemember distensible by fluid pressure to press the heel end portion of anupper into conformity to the contour of the form, said member beingshaped to extend around the heel end of the upper and'to terminate ateach side in a location spaced a substantial distance rearwardly of theball of the shoe, means including a valve for admitting fluid underpressure to said flexible member, a lever for moving said flexiblemember into operative relation to said form, and means for locking saidmember in said position and for opening said valve.

28. In a machine of the class described, a flexible member distensibleby fluid pressure to press an upper into conformity to the con-. torirof a form, and means movable toward uid pressure means 105 and from theupper and form for confining portions of said flexible member against.distension in directions parallel to the surface of the upper.

29. In a machine of the class described, a

the heel end of'an upper on a form and distensible by fluid pressure topress the upper against the form, and members movable towardand from theform at its opposite sides for confining portions of said pad againstdistension heightwise of the form.

30. A machine for blocking or shaping shoe uppers having, incombination, a frame, an inner mold mounted thereon, a pressure lever,an outer mold pivotally connected thereto, and means tending normally tohold the pressure lever raised with the outer mold held a predetermineddistance. above the inner mold.

31. A machine for blocking or shaping .shoe uppers-having, incombination, a frame,

an inner mold mounted thereon for supportmg therear portion of a shoeupper, an

outer mold, means for guiding the outer mold toward the inner mold toengage the shoe upper and to press the outer mold around the inner mold,and means for looking the outer mold in said position andapplyingryielding pressure to the upper.

September 27th, 1928.

KIN GSLEY SPENCER GIMSON.

